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Sunday, June 25, 2017

In Virginia July 1st is When New Laws Go into Effect……So What Laws Have Changed for Virginia’s Current and Future Registered Sex Offenders in 2017?

Soon Virginia news outlets will start to write about the new
laws that take effect in Virginia
this coming Saturday, July 1st.

The Virginia Division of Legislative Services
does publish a summary of new laws following the end of session for the VA
Legislators to have on hand called In Due Course. I thought about publishing
this post back on 06/17/17 but the VDLS summary was not yet online, now it is.

Media
outlets usually pick the most controversial new laws or the widest-net ones to
write about, there is no way they can cover every-single new law.

And since
ignorance of the law is not an acceptable defense and mens rea (criminal
intent) isn’t a required factor in the commission of a crime, especially a sex
crime or in a failure to register for RSO’s, I am going to repost my May 11th
list of new laws for Registered Sex Offenders in Virginia in case anyone missed
it the first time around. Also you can visit the 2017 General Assembly
page to follow the history of the Bills I fought this year.

Mary
Devoy

May
11, 2017 Re-Post:

The 2017 Virginia
General Assembly Session began back on Wednesday January 11th , itadjourned on Saturday February 25thand the reconvene session (AKA Veto
Session) was held on Wednesday April 5,
2017.

This morning I finally
finalized the 2017 General Assembly
Legislation page so that all the details on what Bills failed and what Bills passed are
in one location. That page will remain up until November and then it will be
replaced with a new 2018 GA Legislation page in anticipation of the next VA GA
session.

So now that’s all over………….
what new laws begin on July 1, 2017 that will affect Virginias current (not just future) Registered
Sex Offenders (RSO)? Is there anything significant that you need to know about or to avoid or are now required to do?Yes there are 2
changes, only 1 is a new crime.

Changes that will occur on July 1st:

New Law #1:

HB1485adds
any person convicted of an offense under the laws of any foreign country or any
political subdivision thereof, or the United States or any political
subdivision thereof to:

ØA primary,
secondary or high school, if the conviction is on or after July 1, 2000

ØA child day
center if the
conviction is on or after July 1, 2006

ØA locality
operated playground, athletic field or facility, or gymnasium, if the
conviction is on or after July 1, 2008 “for
the purpose of having any contact whatsoever with children that are not in his
custody”

ØA primary,
secondary or high school, if the conviction is on or after July 1, 2006 and if the Offender is 3 or more
years older than the victim

ØA child day
center if the
conviction is on or after July 1, 2006
and if the Offender is 3 or more years older than the victim

This means anyone convicted of a similar crime in
any of the 49 other States, in a Military
Court, In an Indian Tribal Court, in A US Federal
Court or in another country no must abide by Virginia’s Residency and Loitering laws.

And the Virginia State Police (VSP) plans on
applying this change in law retroactively to anyone who has already be living
in Virginia
as an RSO with a non-Virginia conviction.

The Residency
Portion:

Now I got a grandfather clause added (after both
the House and Senate Patrons refused to add it) for residences established prior
to July 1, 2017 so no ones current residence becomes a felony, for the RSO to
become homeless.

BUT any RSO who moves after this coming July 1st
needs to avoid moving into an apartment/townhouse or buying a house within 500
ft. of a school, a daycare or a public park or face a felony.

The problem is those who are affected by this
retroactive changes in law have no idea that they are now obligated to abide by
it. During the 2017 GA session I attempted to get a second amendment that would
require the VSP to notify those RSO’s who would be affected and the VSP Representative
claimed to the VA Senate Courts of Justice Committee they had no way of knowing
how many were included so they couldn’t notify them. I tried to get a
disclaimer for notification to the affected RSO’s but it was denied.

So these RSO’s will move to a new residence,
they’ll register their new address with the VSP within the 3 day deadline per
law and will have no idea until their VSP Trooper or Compliance Officer comes
to their new home to confirm the change, they committed a felony by moving in.

The Loitering
Portion:

So current the RSO’s who will fall under this new
prohibition on July 1st are legally allowed to drop-off and pick-up
their children, step-children or grandchildren from school or school-sponsored activities
within 100ft from the school property. But as of July 1st, it will
be a felony and as I mentioned above there will be NO NOTIFICATION being given
to those who are expected to obey they new law. Why? Because the Virginia State
Police who are in charge of the management and monitoring of Virginia’s Registered Sex Offenders claimed
they would be unable to notify the specific RSO’s.

FYI, Virginia’s
Trespassing Law requires
posted signage OR prior notification
for it to be a crime. But neither is required for VA’s Residency or Loitering Laws. Why?
Because they are Sex Offenders!

In
my opinion this is an intentional State-Sponsored Trap to arrest, charge and
convict RSO’s who have been doing everything required of them for years but the
2017 Virginia Legislature, Governor McAuliffe and the State Police have
retroactively changed the rules-of-the-game and refuse to give them any sort of
heads up.

New Law #2:

HB1559originally
had nothing to do with Registered Sex Offenders then it was amended by the
House Transportation Committee on January 16th to include them.

As
of July 1, 2017 any 70+ year old Registered Sex Offender who does not have a VA-DMV
Drivers License but instead needs a VA-DMV Special Identification Card is now
prohibited from renewing online or through the mail. They MUST now register
in-person at a VA-DMV location, even though they no longer drive.

Plus
for all RSO’s the VA-DMV Special Identification Card isn’t valid for 8 years
(as it is for everyone else) but it’s ONLY valid for 5 years.

So elderly
Virginia RSO’s must get someone to take them to a VA-DMV location in the month
of their 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90 birthdays to renew their cards.

These
identification cards are needed for doctor’s visits, banking, social security,
etc and the State of Virginia has decided anyone listed on the VSP Registry not
only can not renew online of through the mail but their card is valid for 37%
less time than any other Virginian.

How
is shortening the validity of an identification card AND preventing elderly
RSO’s from renewing their cards like everyone else, NOT a punitive act?

So these are the 2 legal
changes for Virginia’s
Registered Sex Offenders in 2017.If you
or someone you love falls into the population for either of these changes in
law, I’m sorry I couldn’t stop these Bills or at least get them amended. None
of these changes in Virginia
law makes us safer and none is based on evidence-based policies. Both of these
changes in VA law came from fear, hate and vengeance everything I have been fighting
for the last 9 VA General Assembly sessions.

Disclaimer:

This blog is for informational purposes only; I strive to provide accurate and current information.

I do not claim to be a legal resource and suggest you always consult with a licensed Attorney and the Virginia State Police’s Sex Offender Hotline (804) 674-2825 where needed.

I advocate for data-driven, proven reform as opposed to the current knee-jerk, myth-driven, one-size-fits-all method in Virginia. I do not support abolishment of the registry and that is why I do not link to other groups or sites with an abolishment goal or ones with radical tactics.

This blog is not affiliated with any other group and does not solicit donations because it is not an incorporated non-profit.